Elpida Shows Off Resistance RAM Prototype.

Elpida Memory has announced the development of its first-ever high-speed non-volatile resistance memory (ReRAM) prototype. As the ReRAM prototype was made using a 50nm process technology it has a memory cell array operation of 64Mb, one of the highest densities possible for ReRAM.

ReRAM is next-generation semiconductor memory technology that uses material which changes resistance in response to changes in the electric voltage. This new type of non-volatile memory can store data even when the power supply is turned off. Its most attractive feature is that it can read/write data at high speeds using little voltage. While dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) is superior to existing non-volatile memory with respect to read/write speeds and endurance, DRAM quickly loses data when the power supply is removed. NAND flash memory, a leading example of nonvolatile memory, retains data even when the power is removed but has performance measures that are inferior to DRAM.

ReRAM, on the other hand, is a type of semiconductor memory that contains the advantages of both DRAM and NAND flash memory. It has a write speed of 10ns, about the same as DRAM, and write endurance of more than a million times, or more than 10 times greater than NAND flash.

The prototype was jointly developed with the new energy and industrial technology development organization (NEDO), a Japanese-funded public institution. Further work on ReRAM development is being conducted with Sharp Corp., the national institute of advanced industrial science and technology (AIST, another Japanese public institution) and the University of Tokyo.

Elpida plans to continue development toward a 2013 goal of volume production of ReRAM in the gigabit capacity class using a 30nm process technology. If the high-speed durable new memory can be provided at low cost it will contribute enormously to a reduction of memory power consumption. This will make it an attractive storage (recording medium) option in a variety of information technology products, such as smartphones, tablet devices and ultra-thin light notebook PCs.

Elpida continues to develop process migration and other technology related to DRAM and at the same time promotes the development of ReRAM as a promising next-generation memory that can substitute for DRAM functions.

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4.

WOW ! This is probably the greatest thing that happened to storage tech ! Especially if they manage to store more than two values on a single memory bit ! For example to use 4 or 8 voltages, thus creating 4 / 8 different material resistances and thus storing huge amounts of data on very small space ! And seems that very fast too ! I can even dream of 64 bit cells that store CPU instructions directly, thus eliminating the need for and difference between RAM and mass-storage in a phone / tablet / notebook / desktop PC ! Years might pass by then... but definitely not more than 5 !

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5.

ReRAM, like any other memory technology with limited write endurance for that matter, will never be a substitute for DRAM. However it could be a welcome replacement for flash, which has always been a flawed technology (just like LCD displays).